Brakes on a hunting gun

[Rich Coyle]

I'm 75 and prefer 7 all up. Six lug Weatherby with a z5 5-25X52 in Tally's does it in a carbon stock.

 

[SidecarFlip]

The older you get, the lighter you want.... Carbon fiber for me too plus a titanium action and a light contour barrel (Bartlien). No brake, I'm not recoil sensitive nor am I brake wash prone either.

I own a couple tanks, a Savage 338 Lapua (17 pounds) and a 50 Barrett (27 pounds). Fine for around the house, not good for hunting. Now if I was 20, maybe. Both braked of course and not for shooting across the hood of a pickup unless you want to take out the windshield.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I do get a charge out of reading various posts on here with posters bragging about their sticks. One thing never mentioned is weight. They get REAL heavy real fast when lugging them around.

I read the article in American Rifleman about the new Ruger rifle. Read it until I got to the weight and turned the page. Not interested.

One thing about going lightweight is, it almost has to be a custom purpose built rifle. Pretty hard to purchase a stock rifle and scope it and have it be light or at least light enough for this old fart to lug around.

 

[Triple BB]

Guess it depends what kind of shape yer in. I spent 6 weeks prior to last hunting season hitting it hard getting in shape. Carried a friends 14 lb 338 Edge for 6 days in region G. Never felt heavy until I packed the rifle and half my deer about a mile back to the horses. Go with a brake. If yer that concerned about weight, go find a titanium one...

 

[SidecarFlip]

Guess it depends what kind of shape yer in. I spent 6 weeks prior to last hunting season hitting it hard getting in shape. Carried a friends 14 lb 338 Edge for 6 days in region G. Never felt heavy until I packed the rifle and half my deer about a mile back to the horses. Go with a brake. If yer that concerned about weight, go find a titanium one...

Mine already is.

Titanium action, CF stock, light contour barrel and no brake and a sensible scope in Talley one piece rings.

I'm always concerned about weight and my physical limitations. No point in getting to your quarry and being so clapped out you cannot shoulder your stick. Seen that happen more than once.

You are obviously younger than I am (and you don't state your age either).

Not about to be so beat from the stalk that the shot becomes a chore. It's hunting after all, not the 'March to the Sea'. Don't dance to that drummer, never will.

 

[Dean2]

The only real downside to a brake is the noise. You must not and cannot safely shoot a braked rifle without really good ear protection. One shot from a braked rifle can permanently and seriously damage your hearing. You shouldn't shoot any large cartridge without ear protection, even one or two shots hunting but many have got away with it for years. A braked gun, you just won't. I love Suppressors, sure wish we could use them up here.

 

[SidecarFlip]

The only real downside to a brake is the noise. You must not and cannot safely shoot a braked rifle without really good ear protection. One shot from a braked rifle can permanently and seriously damage your hearing. You shouldn't shoot any large cartridge without ear protection, even one or two shots hunting but many have got away with it for years. A braked gun, you just won't. I love Suppressors, sure wish we could use them up here.

You should shoot my S&W XVR 460 revolver sometime. The long barrel with a factory brake. You think a long gun is loud, the 460 is the loudest firearm I've ever discharged. I wear Walkers Game Ears for sound supression. Work excellent and they are Bluetooth so I can control them with a phone app. Not cheap at 200 bucks a set but worth every penny and much easier to deal with over ear muffs or ear plugs.

 

[J E Custom]

My preferred rifle weight is 9 to 14 pounds. Being a builder, I have found that super light rifles are very finicky about the ammo they are fed, are not as steady when holding them and trying to make a shot, especially when winded from going up and down the mountains. And light weight rifles with long barrels add another element to finding an accurate load because of excessive harmonics.

To me, the heavy rifle has to many advantages over a light rifle and carrying a few pounds more is worth the effort. when you add a brake to any rifle the improvement adds another level to shooting/hunting.

The only rifle I felt that was to heavy to pack around was my 34 pound 50 BMG. The heaviest rifle I use for hunting in Colorado is 13.5 pounds, and is not bad with the proper pack or sling. Sad to say, I am 77 and don't know what I will do when I cant carry any of these rifles.

I attached a video on one of my favorite rifles (A 300 RUM) that weighs 11.5 pounds and after installing a Tuned brake recoil went from 35 ft/lbs of recoil to 10.5 for a 70 % reduction in recoil. this rifle is not only fun to shoot, it is deadly at range. and less recoil than a 243.

What's not to like about a brake !! Getting old however Sucks.

Just My preference

J E CUSTOM

 

[SidecarFlip]

My preferred rifle weight is 9 to 14 pounds. Being a builder, I have found that super light rifles are very finicky about the ammo they are fed, are not as steady when holding them and trying to make a shot, especially when winded from going up and down the mountains. And light weight rifles with long barrels add another element to finding an accurate load because of excessive harmonics.

To me, the heavy rifle has to many advantages over a light rifle and carrying a few pounds more is worth the effort. when you add a brake to any rifle the improvement adds another level to shooting/hunting.

The only rifle I felt that was to heavy to pack around was my 34 pound 50 BMG. The heaviest rifle I use for hunting in Colorado is 13.5 pounds, and is not bad with the proper pack or sling. Sad to say, I am 77 and don't know what I will do when I cant carry any of these rifles.

I attached a video on one of my favorite rifles (A 300 RUM) that weighs 11.5 pounds and after installing a Tuned brake recoil went from 35 ft/lbs of recoil to 10.5 for a 70 % reduction in recoil. this rifle is not only fun to shoot, it is deadly at range. and less recoil than a 243.

What's not to like about a brake !! Getting old however Sucks.

Just My preference

J E CUSTOM

Loose that wood stock....lol

When you get to be my age and have dealt with the disabilities I have dealt with, a light stick is like a good friend. Of course there is always my 460...lol I'll be using it this year to put meat in the freezer.

I agree 100% with harmonics and a light contour barrel. Load development with a light contour tube can be an exercise in time and patience. I spent almost 3 months perfecting the load, pill, powder charge and jump to get my No.2 Bartlien shooting sub moa at 200 yards.. Factory loads, out of the question. I keep 50 rounds loaded for it all the time. I have an advantage in that my range (shooting bench) is 50 yards from my reloading bench so making changes is easy.

Wish I could jump a straightwall but sadly, I cannot. The forcing cone is too close...lol

 

[LDHunter]

My preferred rifle weight is 9 to 14 pounds. Being a builder, I have found that super light rifles are very finicky about the ammo they are fed, are not as steady when holding them and trying to make a shot, especially when winded from going up and down the mountains. And light weight rifles with long barrels add another element to finding an accurate load because of excessive harmonics.

To me, the heavy rifle has to many advantages over a light rifle and carrying a few pounds more is worth the effort. when you add a brake to any rifle the improvement adds another level to shooting/hunting.

The only rifle I felt that was to heavy to pack around was my 34 pound 50 BMG. The heaviest rifle I use for hunting in Colorado is 13.5 pounds, and is not bad with the proper pack or sling. Sad to say, I am 77 and don't know what I will do when I cant carry any of these rifles.

I attached a video on one of my favorite rifles (A 300 RUM) that weighs 11.5 pounds and after installing a Tuned brake recoil went from 35 ft/lbs of recoil to 10.5 for a 70 % reduction in recoil. this rifle is not only fun to shoot, it is deadly at range. and less recoil than a 243.

What's not to like about a brake !! Getting old however Sucks.

Just My preference

J E CUSTOM

Is your weight you're talking about an "all up" weight with scope, base, rings, ammo, sling etc?

If so I agree. First and foremost is to not have a lightweight barrel on a long range rifle. Almost everything else can be lightweight. One way you can cheat this a little is by only having a 20" barrel but that cuts back significantly on that all important velocity but then it can be thinner and not have significant whip.

The barrels on the Remington Model 7 Custon Shop AWR rifles that were built up until about 10 years ago with the McMillan stocks had a great barrel contour that was about perfect and they were 22". Matched with the great SAUM chamberings they were one of the best compromises I've ever seen for long range shooting and reasonably light weight. I think they were about 7 pounds bare and by the time you had a good scope on them and filled the magazine with ammo you were about 9-10 pounds all up and carried like a dream.

They certainly weren't much over 1,000 yard capable but up to there they performed great. I have one in 300SAUM and one in 7mmSAUM and one of them will hopefully get a crack at a long range elk hunt in the next couple of years or at least a muley or antelope.

The SAUM chamberings like medium to fast burning powders and therefore perform well in 22" barrels and they're very easy to load for not being very finicky at all and for most hunters a muzzle brake is totally unnecessary.

 

[J E Custom]

Is your weight you're talking about an "all up" weight with scope, base, rings, ammo, sling etc?

If so I agree. First and foremost is to not have a lightweight barrel on a long range rifle. Almost everything else can be lightweight. One way you can cheat this a little is by only having a 20" barrel but that cuts back significantly on that all important velocity but then it can be thinner and not have significant whip.

The barrels on the Remington Model 7 Custon Shop AWR rifles that were built up until about 10 years ago with the McMillan stocks had a great barrel contour that was about perfect and they were 22". Matched with the great SAUM chamberings they were one of the best compromises I've ever seen for long range shooting and reasonably light weight. I think they were about 7 pounds bare and by the time you had a good scope on them and filled the magazine with ammo you were about 9-10 pounds all up and carried like a dream.

They certainly weren't much over 1,000 yard capable but up to there they performed great. I have one in 300SAUM and one in 7mmSAUM and one of them will hopefully get a crack at a long range elk hunt in the next couple of years or at least a muley or antelope.

The SAUM chamberings like medium to fast burning powders and therefore perform well in 22" barrels and they're very easy to load for not being very finicky at all and for most hunters a muzzle brake is totally unnecessary.

Yes. It is the total weight of the rifle. Like you I have many short barreled rifles that have a heavy taper or contour, But for the realy big cartridges that need a long barrel (Normally 28"+) these need to be a heavy contour also so they are my heavy weights and come in at
13 to 15 pounds.

I have built a few light weight rifles for my self that will hover at 6 pounds dressed, and some are 338s to 45 cal and they wear a good muzzle brake for obvious reasons.

J E CUSTOM

 

[e1harris]

I'm not recoil sensitive, and I hunt with a brake on my 308 Win. It definitely makes a difference when hunting with a lightweight setup, and I'm able to track my shots better.

OK....talk to me people. Interested in hearing from those that hunt with muzzle brakes.

I wore out my heavy barrel on my 7mm Rem Mag. I ended up putting a #3 bartlein on it because I was tired of lugging a 15lb rifle into the backcountry. I'm not recoil sensitive in the least, but with the missing weight in the barrel I'm fighting some muzzle jump that I've never had to deal with before.

I'm thinking about putting a brake on her to help manage the recoil and get the gun to track better. My question is: Have any of you regretted doing it? What kind of hearing protection are you using while hunting?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, advice and opinions. I've never had a braked rifle before and I keep going back and forth on the idea.